It's hard to say what I wish I'd learn. I've run into problems when I've tried to build things, and I did have to teach myself how to figure out area. A lot of it is stuff that is covered in elementary/middle school. We moved a lot, so math education before high school has a lot of swiss cheese holes. I definitely have a plan sketched out. It involves special ed English/lit, continuing with TT as far as she can (hopefully Algebra 1/Geometry, plus consumer math. She's in TT7 at the moment.) The usual social studies sequence. Some Spanish. Basically the usual everything, but modified (sometimes significantly) to meet her where she's at. One way we modify is that she's always allowed to access reference materials. Always. It takes some of the load off of her already taxed working memory. I also don't require very much reading in content areas. I really, really hope Acellus works for us over the long term. It's still early days, so we'll see. It's one of the few programs out there that offers special ed classes for high school, and it's not expensive. I like that in her English class (SE) the questions have a lot of support in them, so when her working memory fails her (and it does), she can still show what she knows. The challenge level is just right and she's still able to be successful.

If possible, it's good to get at least some geometry. I managed to avoid Geometry in high school, and I have felt its lack in my daily life. I'm not talking anything super advanced, but maybe something that teaches geometry you use in everyday life or maybe Key to Geometry. I don't know. Clearly, this isn't my field of expertise. I had to teach myself a lot of it, and it's just annoying. I wish I'd learned it in high school like 99% of my peers. Acellus offers a special ed geometry class that might work. They have other special ed and remedial classes that might work for the other subject areas. DD14 has primarily language-based LDs and is doing the High School English 1 - SE. She's learning and able to be successful. Big win :)

I'm so happy they arrested him and his children are safe. Thank God for the person who gave the tip and the police who responded quickly.

Yes, this. Exactly. It's complicated. Really, everyone needs to read Educated and listen to stories of homeschool alums with open minds and hearts. The extreme educational neglect described in the book provides a useful starting point for our thinking. Thinking about what would have helped the author and her siblings in terms of education is what informed my ideas about educational neglect and minimal basic standards. She had never heard of the Holocaust. What the ... And this happened in America where she supposedly had the right to a basic education. My "work in progress" definition of educational neglect in homeschool is "big picture." It assumes not just a few busy months or even a year that sucks. It assumes that the parent, over a long period of time, is not making a reasonable effort to ensure that the child is gaining at least the minimum skills/knowledge s/he will need to function as an adult, and/or the parent is significantly interfering with the child's education. For a typical child (ie no LDs) that would mean reading at a high school level, able to write a few coherent paragraphs about a topic, possess a basic level of historical, scientific, and cultural literacy, math skills through Algebra 1. This isn't a high standard, and most of us provide more than that for our kids, but it's high enough that these children aren't crippled by a lack of education. There is no excuse for a NT homeschool graduate to lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. None. For kids with LDs, most can achieve the minimums above (or close to it). I think the parent needs to be actually working with the child to help them reach their potential. I'm in the thick of it right now, and it can be really hard at times.

I used to try to wrap my brain around how someone could do something like this, but there is no understanding it beyond this single fact: Some people are truly evil. Full stop.

Wow, that is really disappointing. Thank you for the warning.

Actually, I'm sure she DOES have dyslexia. I was telling the mom that years ago (along with where to get low-cost testing, and how she should really address this asap, blah, blah, blah). She's currently getting her child tutoring services through the public school system, but it took literally YEARS for her to get to that place where she was willing to do it. It did not help to have homeschooling/unschooling mamas telling her "She'll read when she's ready." Um, the child is 10 and hasn't mastered the alphabet. Y'all need to just be quiet. Making this mom feel better at the moment is not going to help her child over the long-term. If I sound frustrated, it's because I am. We need to be helping each other, not enabling denial. I do get what you're saying though. I have a kid with learning disabilities and I can only imagine what people who don't know us must think of her poor neglected education.

Ha - I'm not sure what I'm talking about, to be honest. It's just on my mind, you know? I don't even know a good definition of educational neglect. Maybe just not trying at all. The teaching parent has given up. In the book I mentioned, that's what happened. Every situation I mentioned in my second post are situations I've witnessed in person. These parents are good people and love their children, but for some reason, the school part of homeschool just isn't happening for most or all of a school year ... year after year... (and no, they're not unschoolers) or they're facing real barriers to getting out of the house or need the denial because acknowledging severe dyslexia would feel overwhelming... and I see their kids hurting - even though that's totally NOT what the parents intended - and it's just... it sucks. And, you know what else? I'm not some super-awesome homeschool mom. I'm pretty average, stuff gets done on a fairly regular basis, but really none of it is blog-worthy. Maybe that average looks sub-par or neglectful to outsiders because it's not enough of the right kinds of stuff. It's not rigorous enough or whatever. And then, I read stories of adult homeschoolers who are hurting (which scares me to death, because what if my own children feel that way as adults??) so I come and ask "how common IS true neglect?" Somewhere in this wordy post was the answer to "what I'm talking about." Maybe.

More chemistry, because that's what we're in the midst of with one of my kids :D SEAChem2020 - a work in progress (10 lessons are done), being created by a high school chemistry teacher. He also wrote a free chemistry textbook (pdf): Chemistry the Awesomest Science (ETA: but see JanetC's caveat below) Earth Science: Introduction to Geology - Christian, old-Earth perspective. Enough material to be used as a one semester high school course.

How many labs does a course need in order to be counted for "lab science" credit? Is there a rule of thumb?

Well, the original question is completely sincere. The last post I made is a rant, but not in disguise at all. The more I listen to the stories of adult homeschoolers who fell through the cracks, and who are in pain today as a result, the more frustrated I get. And then to think through the homeschool families I know and see some of them with these really significant problems, and have to sit by and do nothing, because there's nothing to be done... yeah, it upsets me. I realize public schoolers fall through the cracks, too. But PS isn't my world; homeschool is.

I think we tend to surround ourselves with like-minded people, so I guess it's no surprise that most of us can't pinpoint any instances within our realm of influence. I'm in a position to meet, at least casually, a lot of homeschool families, and I'm starting to identify it where I would have just glossed over it before. These families are definitely in the minority. I doubt that any of what I've seen rises to the legal definition of educational neglect (is there even a standard legal definition?) Let's start with something controversial (that shouldn't be): YES, you have to make an effort to get your poor kids out of the house on a regular basis for fun and friends or they'll grow up lonely and not know how to socialize with similar-aged peers, and this will HURT them emotionally if nothing else. Groups, classes, etc. won't always work out, but at least you can say you tried. Stop saying that "well, in the real world you're around people of all ages." Yes, but in the real KID world, it's really awesome and healthy and positive to be around other people who like the same stuff you do. NO, the baby can't be the lesson every stinking year. If a "taking a break" has become the new normal, then it's no longer a break, is it? Get yourself together, find something easy to implement and get going. NO, not all (or even most) kids will teach themselves to read/do math "when they're ready." Some kids actually need regular instruction in these skills. Crazy, right? Plus, that's just a lot of pressure. What if your kid isn't cut out to be an auto-didact? Is he just screwed? And if your 12 year old "just isn't ready to read yet," do something. Oh, and by the way, that semi-mythical unschooled kid who worked through all the Saxon levels in a year, because he wanted to go to college (depending on the re-telling he probably scored super high on the SAT/ACT, too)? Not at all indicative of what typical kids can accomplish. Stop holding up prodigies as if they're the norm. And you know what sucks? There's nothing I personally can do about any of it. Maybe it's just the area I live in. This is purposeless ranting. I'm just cranky and cynical today.

I just read something by a semi-neglected homeschooled teen that made me really sad, and I'm also listening to Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. It got to the point that her dad actively interfered with his kids learning anything remotely academic. How would YOU define educational neglect in the homeschool setting? How common do you think it is? Like if you had to ballpark a percentage: More than 50%? Less? Just a small percentage? What about social neglect? I define that as parents making no real effort to give their children frequent, regular opportunities to socialize outside the family and build friendships, as well as parents actively opposing these types of opportunities. The opportunities might not develop into friendships, but the effort should be there, kwim? I'm discovering that this kind of thing exists in numbers greater than I'd previously thought, and it is breaking my heart. And, honestly, I'm allowing myself to SEE it within my own homeschool circle. Not most parents, but it's definitely there.

Yes, HSC, CHEA, and HSLDA are working on it.

:lol: Literally LOL. You have a point.

Let's not think that far ahead... or give them any ideas. I'm going to stay focused on maintaining the status quo. It works well for the vast majority of homeschool children and parents. Once you give away your freedom to the government, it's nearly impossible to get it back. This is doubly true in California. I do not support changes to the current law - period.

Being subject to standardized testing would mean that my older daughter wouldn't pass muster, according to the powers that be. If forced I could deal with minimal regulations... maybe an annual portfolio review with an evaluator of my choice to show that educational stuff did, in fact, happen this year. Beyond that... ugh. I hate to think about it.

I'm not willing to give an inch because I know that the legislature is unreasonable and will overstep if given the opportunity. I would not agree to standardized testing, period. But, the point is that it's not about education. It's about all private California homeschoolers being viewed as potential child abusers. I wonder if there are any legislators that homeschool their children.

Bingo. Medina's not even trying to hide his motivation. He actually wrote that this bill would help the government collect data about private schools, especially homeschools. I am hoping in my heart that this bill is too stupid and offensive to actually get anywhere. Maybe I should buy this doormat just in case. :p

Homeschools - presumably even larger homeschools - have been historically exempt from fire inspections. Even with conventional private schools, the fire inspection thing was in the law but, my impression is that it was never rigidly required. IIRC, the law says "subject to" fire inspections, but doesn't actually require them.

In California, private homeschoolers operate by establishing their homes as tiny, super-exclusive private schools. Regular private schools are subject to annual fire inspections. Private schools with 5 or fewer students (aka homeschools) have been exempt. Assemblymember Jose Medina has introduced legislation to amend the existing law to require fire inspections of "private schools with 5 or fewer students." He said on his website that the state has "very little information about on the nature of private school entities across California" and that his bill will allow the state to "collect more information to achieve a better understanding of the private school landscape in California." (link) This bill has NOTHING to do with fire safety!!! It's just a way for the government to demand entrance into my home, take a look-see around, and collect information. Why don't we wipe our butts with the 4th amendment while we're at it? He uses the Turpin case as an excuse, although an inspection would not have saved the kids. The parents could have gone underground or cleaned up once a year to pass the inspection or moved to a lower-reg state instead of California. I really, really hate my state right now. We have SO MUCH CRAZY here and it's only getting worse. If you live here, please contact your state representatives and tell them exactly what they can do with AB2756. Politely.

How does that work? I thought homeschooling was illegal in Germany. :bigear:

It comes with an e-book version of the workbook that you can highlight, but it really depends on the student whether or not the paper workbook would be useful. DD almost never used the workbook, so the online interface is plenty for her.

I'd probably try to get the depression and anxiety under some semblance of control first and then see which symptoms remain. (eta: Oh good grief. I just re-read the OP and see that I totally missed the last paragraph about her already using medication to manage depression/anxiety with medication (sigh... hello ADHD brain). It's sort of funny to me given the context of the post.) ADHD is easy to misdiagnose. Medication can work well but you need an accurate diagnosis and good health insurance or enough income to get to the doctor every month to refill most types of ADHD medications. The latter is why I don't use medication to manage my own ADHD symptoms. Luckily, there are a lot of things s/he can do to improve day to day living that don't involve medications. There are nutritional things like taking fish oil supplements, as well as things like automating bill paying and working with an organizer who understands the ADHD brain. In fact, s/he should be doing these things even if s/he's also using medication. My .02 I wish him/her all the best.

Teaching Textbooks Saxon Math Mystery of History (first year using it but it's very open-and-go and we're making actual sustained progress in a non-3Rs area. I know... the mind boggles)